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31/1/2013

James Aldridge

David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen

David Risley Gallery is proud to announce our first solo show of James Aldridge in Copenhagen. Representation of the natural world is central to James Aldridge’s work. How we relate to images of nature and the folklore and superstitions that surrounds them affect our reading of these images. The crow, which repeatedly features in Aldridge’s work, has long been seen as an ominous portent. Rather than a simple representation of a bird, the image of the crow carries with it myriad associations.

In Aldridge’s work a tension between the real and fantastic is revealed and establishes a compelling psychological space. The conventions of landscape representation are abandoned in these paintings — horizons disappear and gravity and orientation fail to obey the usual rules. Yet connections between these birds, plants and other animals and the landscape remain, conjuring a strangely atmospheric result. Tension lies in the interplay between decorative and beautiful elements and the implied violence of dripping or vomited blood and nightmarish mutated mandalas. Polyhedral objects exert a gravitational influence on the compositions, exploding or imploding their space, while rendering these enigmatic objects both incongruous and pivotal. These enigmatic forms refer to 16th century explorations of perspective, and like the natural history illustrations that Aldridge references they come from a time when art and science were more intimately related to humanistic discovery than postmodern aesthetics. These elements of Aldridge's imaginaire recall this rich legacy but are re-established in a hallucinatory world where these disparate characters interact to make a whole.

James Aldridge was born in the UK in 1971 and lives and works in Småland, Sweden. Recent solo exhibitions have included Poppy Sebire Gallery, London (2011), Gabriel Rolt, Amsterdam (2010); Galería Casado Santapau, Madrid (2009); Suite Gallery, Wellington NZ (2009) and David Risley Gallery, London (2008). Group exhibitions include First Cut, Manchester City Art Gallery, Apopcalypse Now, Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam (2011), Second Biennial of The Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (2009); On that which remains, Nassauischer Kunstverein, Wiesbaden (2008); PLUS, Museum Wiesbaden (2007)). His painting Cold Mouth Prayer was commissioned for Tate Modern and he has work in several major international, private collections. Aldridge holds an MA from the Royal College of Art and in 1998 was awarded the Rome Scholarship in Fine Art. Upcoming shows include Empty Distances, Mark Moore Gallery L.A. curated by Caryn Coleman-Mojica, First Cut, Djanogly Gallery, Nottingham touring to Southampton City Art Gallery and a solo show at Nässjö Konsthall

Opening Friday February 1 17.00 – 20.30.

David Risley Gallery
Bredgade 65A, Copenhagen
Hours: Wed-Fri 12.00 -18.00, Sat 11.00-15.00
Free Admission

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